William B. “Bill” Johnson, 83, of Rockford, passed away on Thursday, July 27, 2017 surrounded by his family. He was born on July 13, 1934 in Duluth, MN, the son of Berger and Ingrid (Malmin) Johnson. He married the love of his life, Barbara Haugen, on May 19, 1956. He proudly served on the Rockford Fire Department for 34 years. He retired as District Chief in 1990. He established the Annual Memorial Golf Outing to benefit local survivors of the Rockford Fire Department. He was an active member of the Rockford Ski Club, and a competitive ski jumper for many years. He was a former member of the Harmony Singing Society. He traveled to Norway to visit family, and to see the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. He enjoyed golf, bowling, drawing, and he especially loved his family and spending time with his wife, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. We could spend the rest of our lives trying to be half the person he was, and we would most certainly come up short. He was greatly loved, and will be dearly missed.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara; his children, Michael (Julie) Johnson and Linda (Bill) Palm; his grandchildren, Trista (Austin) Larson, Taryn (Torin) Schneider, Jeff Palm, Erik Johnson, Vanessa (Ryan) Garnhart, Kristin (Kyle) Powal, and Amy Johnson; his great grandchildren, Landon, Jack, Evie, and Arny. Predeceased by his parents, and his brothers, Arny, Jim, Stan, and Roy.